Page 4 of Nemesis

He’s bent over his desk with slim, rimless glasses perched on the end of his nose. His pencil scratches across a page in his notebook.

Until his gaze lifts, we don’t speak. Finally, he finishes the page and sets down the writing utensil, frowning at me.

“You look like shit.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Thanks.”

“What’s wrong?”

I shrug. “What’re you working on?”

He slides the book to me. I scan the page he was just working on, a smile slowly blooming across my face. I didn’t think I’d be smiling today, but…

“Chocolate cake?”

He watches me. “Your birthday is coming up.”

My smile slides away, and the frown I’ve been staving off comes back. “No.”

“We’re celebrating,” he says. “With this. The perfect chocolate cake. I’ve been working on the ingredients for months. It’s your favorite, so you can’t say no.”

I scan the pages again.

“My sixth iteration,” he adds.

Birthdays? Add it to the list ofsore subjects. And the fact that he’s been working on it long enough to ditch five probably perfectly reasonable cake recipes… it means he cares about it. About me. I already knew he cared about me, but I often like to ignore the fact that it’s there. It’s easier when we’re just existing as… business partners.

“Well.” A lump forms in my throat. “That’s… Okay. Fine.”

He grins, then takes the pages back. He glances at the digital clock on his desk. “Kitchen should be ready to go. Time to put on my chef hat.”

I stand. “Let me know if there are any issues.”

“Always.”

I head across the hall into my office. Owning your own business comes with its fair share of paperwork. Antonio takes care of the restaurant, our club manager basically runs the nightclub aspect, which leaves me to pay the bills.

Which is what I end up doing for over an hour. My eyes are tired and my hand cramped when one of the club hosts knocks at my office door.

I lean back in my chair and smile at her. “Everything okay?”

“Sam called out sick.”

Sam is the nightclub manager. She isn’t usually known for calling out…ever. And with only two hours until the club opens, she’s cutting it a little close. The woman is seriously like a superhero. She probably had awards from school for perfect attendance.

“How about Jackie?” I ask.

The girl in front of me, Mel, shakes her head. “She’s in Emerald Cove for the week. Doing that training thing and visiting her sister.”

Right.

“Sorry.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I knew that.”

“I didn’t know who else to ask…”

“No, it’s not your fault. I’ll finish up here and be down in a few moments.”

She hesitates.

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